AUSTIN, Texas — By Tuesday evening, hundreds of Eanes ISD families could know if their school is closing for good. Board members are expected to vote on a proposal to shut down Valley View Elementary School.
This year, Superintendent Dr. Jeff Arnett said the district has a deficit of more than $3 million. Next year, it could grow to about $6.5 million if they do not take any measures, which include shutting down the smallest elementary school.
“This whole conversation is occurring at the intersection of not just declining enrollments and population shifts, but also declining funding from the state. So it’s almost the perfect storm,” Dr. Arnett said.
If the school shuts down, it would save the district about $2 million. The plan is to send the students to Barton Creek Elementary, which the superintendent says was built for a larger number of students.
“We can see some efficiencies just in terms of how the building is organized and how classrooms are assigned within that school so that it can accommodate a larger number of students,” Dr. Arnett said.
To save money, the district will also consider halting its K through 5 Spanish immersion program and eliminate planning periods for teachers, which give staff an additional hour in their schedule to plan if they teach a core subject.
Christine Curry is a parent at Barton Creek Elementary.
“We’re just really frustrated at the lack of transparency and accountability,” Curry said. “If they blend these two schools, this will be almost as big as our middle school, and it just doesn’t have the capacity to hold that many students.”
Jordan Dixon has children at Valley View and Barton Creek.
“I am worried about the blend. I feel like it has been rushed,” Dixon said. “My children aren’t getting an exemplary education in Eanes, and I am really concerned that we’re going to move and now we’re going to be in a school of 700-plus.”
District leadership is now at a crossroads in light of their reality.
“That reality is less funding for public schools and changes in our population require us to have to make difficult decisions,” Dr. Arnett said.
The board of trustees meeting is happening on Jan. 14 at 6 p.m. at the S. Don Rogers Administration Building.